Land of Taxila is now Ivy League of Terrorism - India's strong reply to Pak PM Nawaz Sharif at UN

Delhi: Ripping Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif speech apart, India on Thursday said at the United Nations that Pakistan was the 'Ivy League of Terrorism.'

First Secretary at the Permanent Mission of India to the UN, Eenam Gambhir said that it was "ironical that we have seen today the preaching of human rights and ostensible support for self-determination by a country which has established itself as the global epicentre of terrorism."

Exercising India's Right of Reply to Sharif's 'long tirade' about the situation in Kashmir, Gambhir made a strong rebuttal.

"The worst violation of human rights is terrorism. When practiced as an instrument of state policy it is a war crime," she said.

"What my country and our other neighbours are facing today is Pakistan's long-standing policy of sponsoring terrorism, the consequences of which have spread well beyond our region," she added.

Gambhir said India sees in Pakistan 'a terrorist state' which channelises billions of dollars, much of it diverted from international aid, to training, financing and supporting terrorist groups as militant proxies against it neighbours.

In a reference to JeM chief Masood Azhar and Mumbai terror attack mastermind Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, she said terrorist entities and their leaders, including many designated by the UN, continue to roam the streets of Pakistan freely and operate with State's support.

"With the approval of authorities, many terrorist organisations raise funds openly in flagrant violation of Pakistan's international obligations," Gambhir said, as per PTI.

"Even today we have heard support by the Prime Minister of Pakistan for a self-acknowledged commander of a known terrorist organisation," she said.

She said while Pakistan's nuclear proliferation record is marked by "deception and deceit," it talks about restraint, renunciation and peace.

"Similar false promises it has made to us - the international community on terrorism. Perhaps renunciation of lies and self-restraint on threats could be a good place for Pakistan to start," Gambhir said.

Land of Taxila, one of the greatest learning centers of ancient times, is now host to the Ivy League of Terrorism - India responds @un pic.twitter.com/ytfT3SR53u — Syed Akbaruddin (@AkbaruddinIndia) September 22, 2016

Pak PM rakes up Kashmir at UN, glorifies Burhan Wani

In his nearly 20-minute speech yesterday night at UN General Assembly, almost half of which was focussed on Kashmir, Sharif had hailed Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani - who was killed on July 8 by the Indian forces resulting in tensions in the Valley - as a 'young leader' and the 'symbol' of the Kashmiris' freedom movement.

Sharif had said in his speech at UN that Pakistan fully supported Kashmiris' right to self-determination and demanded an 'independent enquiry' into the 'extrajudicial killings' in Kashmir.

Sharif had added that Wani had become "the symbol of the new Kashmiri intifada that was led by common Kashmiris", as per IANS.

He had also spoken of 'Indian brutalities' and "human rights violations by Indian forces" in the Kashmir Valley, and had said that Pakistan would present a dossier on Kashmir to the world body.

Sharif, whose government has persistently been raising the Kashmir issue at the international fora, had further said that his country wanted peace with India and had gone the extra mile to achieve that, but India has 'imposed preconditions'.

Sharif had gone on to say that the 'indigenous uprising' in Kashmir has been met with "brutal repression by Indian soldiers" and would "only fortify the determination of Kashmiris to fight for their rights"

"Pakistan fully supports self-determination of Kashmiris' legitimate demand," he had said, adding that UN Security Council should ensure implementation of resolutions on Kashmir.

Sharif's remarks non-factual: MoS External Affairs MJ Akbar  

Strongly reacting to Pakistan PM remarks, India had described them as non-factual and full of 'threat bluster' and had said that glorification of Wani by him at the world forum was an act of 'self-incrimination' by Pakistan.

"We just heard a speech full of threat bluster and rising immaturity and complete disregard of facts," Minister of State for External Affairs MJ Akbar had said at a press conference at India's permanent mission in New York after Sharif's address.

He had also criticised Sharif for glorifying Wani and had said that India "will not succumb to blackmail tactics of the Pakistan government that seems eager to use terrorism as policy".

"We heard the glorification of a terrorist. Wani is declared commander of Hizbul, widely acknowledged as a terror group. It is shocking that a leader of a nation can glorify a self-advertised terrorist at such a forum. This is self-incrimination by Pakistan PM," Akbar had said.

Rejecting Sharif's offer to India to enter into a serious and sustained dialogue for the peaceful resolution of all outstanding disputes, the minister had said, "Talks and guns don't go together".

"Pakistan at this moment seems to be run by a war machine rather than a government. Pakistan wants dialogue while holding a terrorist gun in its hand," he had added.

(With Agency inputs)